Night of the Crane | By @WendyyWolfe

25. Echo.Tower.Assist.

Dedicated to MattKalo

The briefing room was crowded with the extra survivors but Lacy wasnt complaining. She and Krisslyn sat next to each other and Dylan stood behind them, giving his seat to the elder members of Reese's team and Silas stood back against the map-wall behind Reese.

Macenna stood next to Reese while James and Macallan took the far end of the conference table, for obvious reasons.

Lacy's eyes roamed over the aged faces of these men. She barely knew any of them but here she was, forced to trust strangers in an even stranger situation. Her mind wondered as the men droned on about what they could possibly do to fight back against an invasion of an entity they couldn't even see and she wished her dad were here beside her.

Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes but she bit her lip and tried like hell to concentrate on the things being discussed.

She glanced at Krisslyn who looked just as lost as she felt herself, as her cousin stared blankly around the room.

Reese was now asking Silas to speak to them and Lacy turned her attention to him. For as long as she could remember, Silas Fisher had lived near them in Brew Town and though they had all only been gone close to a week it felt like a lifetime to her already.

Silas had never been someone she gave that much attention to but it seemed as if he were highly regarded by Reese and Lacy found herself surprised by the level of intelligence he spoke with. She had always thought him to be no more than a homeless bum, the town drunk and now she was even feeling choked up for thinking such garbage. How could she have been so wrong about so many things?

Her puppy slept in her arms and she absently rubbed his little ears. He yawned and stretched but continued his nap. Lacy had become completely attached to him taking him with her whenever she was. She had named him Tibbs. Her father's nickname.

Tibbs would prove to be the only constant relief Lacy would find these days as their situation became solidified in her mind, but Silas was capturing her attention now and her memories were pushed to the side as he recounted the horrifying information he had previously shared with Sargeant Reese.

"Yes, you heard me right. I woke up in the alley next to the Brown Jug Pub. I was on a drinking binge, again. I couldn't believe it was already morning. I shielded my eyes from the sun and crawled forward a little. That's when I saw the thing overhead and the bodies in the road. I wanted to scream but couldn't. I thought I was having an alcohol induced nightmare. I just can't tell you-- my body turned to jello and my mind snapped at the same time. I just wanted to run for my life but I couldn't. I've seen a lot of things in my life but, this? This, was beyond all my years of University, degrees, careers with top scientists all combined. We all talked about things like this but secretly never imagined," he trailed off, quietly introspective for long moments.

"And we can't do anything about it," he shook his head. "This is beyond any human intelligence. Beyond human ability. These beings aren't here. They wait beyond the stratosphere. We are dealing with their drones, for lack of a better word, and they could control earth as long as they'd like."

"But what do they want Silas," James asked.

"Resources, likely. It sounds like science fiction but sadly, it's probably more than true. They have the ability to use us for their dirty work. Not the living us, but the dead. They are taking our dead and turning them into living drones. Controlling their actions. Following them to find us. I saw it with my own eyes. So we must not be found! Anyone will be killed and used for their sole purpose of wiping humanity out and taking earth for themselves. It would take our government and military years to put together a plan of defense because they spent so many years denying the presence of life beyond us. Oh there were a few who tried to research, like Bigelow, Lazar, Area 51, hell even MUFON, worked continuously to bring us up to speed in understanding the if's and maybe's, but nobody listened. Most in high places only chuckled at Bigelow's work. I bet they're not laughing now."

Many around the table nodded or shook their heads.

"People, we are in a genuine shit storm," Reese commented, "and I'm not gonna lie, I don't have a clue what to do from here. As long as we have any kind of comms we will stay in the loop with our people but if communications are ever interrupted we will, be on our own."

Macallan rubbed his forehead with frustration, giving James a helpless look.

Silence settled over the group like thick honey, drowning their thoughts and permeating their hope with total defeat.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Krisslyn snorted. "We could always ask Alexa."

Every single eye in the room looked at her with open mouthed unbelief except Lacy.

"Are you kidding me right now cousin? Alexa?"

She felt Krisslyn's head for fever.

Krisslyn pushed Lacy's hand away.

"No I'm not kidding. There's an Alexa right there," she pointed standing up. "Alexa. How do I fight alien drones?"

Everyone looked at the Echo Tower Assistant sitting on the bookshelf behind Reese.

A gasp resounded around the room as Alexa's circular light flashed and made several loops before the familiar, robotic feminine voice filled the room.

"I don't know how to fight alien drones, but I know someone who will. Meet my sister, Linda."